Described herein is a method for providing a lighting function for assisting a driver when driving a motor vehicle, in which the lighting function is activated, a light distribution is determined according to the lighting function, a perspective of a driver of the motor vehicle is determined, and a projection apparatus of the motor vehicle is controlled in such a way that the projection apparatus outputs light according to the light distribution. Also described herein is a device for providing a lighting function for assisting a driver when driving a motor vehicle, wherein the device activates the lighting function on the basis of reception of an activation signal which is assigned to the lighting function, determines a light distribution according to the lighting function, determines a perspective of a driver of the motor vehicle, and includes a control unit for providing a control signal for controlling the projection apparatus of the motor vehicle, so that the projection apparatus outputs light according to the light distribution. Furthermore, also described herein is a motor vehicle which includes the device.
Methods and devices of the generic type as well as also motor vehicles with such devices are extensively known. They serve to provide a lighting function which serve, for example, for illuminating a route or a road on which the motor vehicle is being driven by the driver, or else to provide signals which can be sensed visually by the driver. In this context, for example German patent application publication 10 2016 00 838 A1 describes a method and a control unit for facilitating the positioning of a vehicle. This teaching is aimed, in particular, at improving a lateral positioning of the motor vehicle, in order as a result to improve improved positioning to an energy transmission segment, arranged in a roadway, of a road in the direction of travel of the motor vehicle, so that energy transmission is improved. The energy transmission segment is based on providing, by using an alternating magnetic field, energy which can be fed to the motor vehicle by extracting energy from the alternating field by using a suitable energy coupler. So that usable energy coupling can be achieved, it is necessary to orient the motor vehicle as precisely as possible with respect to the energy transmission segment. For this purpose, lateral boundaries of the energy transmission segment in front of the motor vehicle are determined. In addition, a deviation of the determined lateral position of the motor vehicle from the fixed lateral boundaries of the energy transmission segment is determined. A process for facilitating the lateral positioning of the motor vehicle within the lateral boundaries is then carried out so that the driver is assisted in keeping the motor vehicle within the lateral boundaries of the energy transmission segment. For this purpose a sign or symbol is correspondingly displayed in a headup display (HUD). Furthermore, a corresponding sign can be projected onto the roadway in front of the motor vehicle in order to be able to direct the driver in a desired fashion.
Even if this known device has proven itself, there are nevertheless disadvantages. Contemporary headlights and HUDs are used to form corresponding light distributions or lighting functions independently of topography. This can lead to a situation in which the visual formation for the driver is not always sufficiently clear. This can result in incorrect directing operations.